Bali (again)

Monkey from Monkey Forest

    I have been in Bali for awhile now and today I am going from Ubud to Pandangbai, on the coast. I have done some interesting things here. Once we were out on a rented motor bike and it was raining, no, pouring and in order to get back to our hotel we had to walk our bike through knee deep water on the flooded road.
    We also went to the monkey forest and I fed bananas to the greedy monkeys. It was a quite fun. They know when you have bananas and will literally climb up you to get them.
   

 

Bali

    To start off my world trip we flew to L.A. and went to Disneyland. It was fun riding all the rides like Space Mountain and The Indiana Jones ride.
    We arrived then in Bali, Indonesia. It was a long flight there, 18 hours + a 5 hour layover in Hong Kong. At the first place we stayed in Sanur we were outside and I got like 30 mosquito bites. The next place we went to had AC. It was nice and I spent hours and hours in the pool.

   Bali is really different from America. The streets are narrow and there are lots of little shops and everyone tries to sell you something (at least in the touristy areas). It is also really hot.

   Next we went to Ubud; its a lot different there. It rains a lot more and is a little cheaper. I sorta like it here but sometimes I think I would rather be at home living a normal life with my brand new lap top computer that I wasn't allowed to bring, not to mention my computer game.

Chicago

   A few weeks ago I went into Chicago. We took the train up and headed to Lincoln Park Zoo. If you have ever been to a zoo before, well they're pretty much all the same.... I mean lions, tigers, bears living in small spaces.... same ol'. It's sad to see all the animals in such small enclosures, relative to their natural roaming territory.
     Next we took a walk through the park and along Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful Indian summer day and I enjoyed seeing the cityscape from a distance.
    Later in the evening we met with a friend of my mom's, Paul, at a delicious crepe restaurant, La Creperie. After that we took a walk to his apartment building. The complex was nice but the apartment was only one room. We didn't have much time there before we had to leave to catch the train back to my Grandparent's house.
   Personally, I don't think I could live in such a small space in the middle of a mass of concrete, people, cars, and noise. It's fun visiting but if I were to live in the city, I would like a big, more open space.

Savanah and the South

      Earlier this week I was in Savanah Georgia. It may be a small town but its a great place to visit. Savanah is old and the streets are lined with beautiful southern style houses and churches. It was enjoyable just to walk through the downtown with a combo of new and old.
     The best thing though, was going to the beach at Tybee Island. Building sand castles and running in the waves was something I hadn't done in a long time. Although we left the next day we still got a taste of Savanah.

     Although Savanah was great, it's hard to beat walking through the village of Hogsmeade and seeing the castle of Hogwarts. That's what I did at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. I had a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks just like Harry might. I got a wand from Olivander's and went through the Hogwarts castle. In my opinion, The Forbidden Journey, a kind of simulated ride through Hogwarts, was best. You flew through and around the castle facing dark creatures of all sorts and helped win the quidditch game for Gryffindor.
     There were other good rides too. A log ride that got you soaked, two massive rollercoasters, a Spiderman ride that felt so realistic and still more!! I think the real thing that needed improvement was the food!       

       Check later for photos

New York City!!!!!!!

    Yesterday I returned from a short trip in NYC. From Washington D.C. I took a bus to Manhattan and that night we met with a friend of my mom's, Shana, and went to dinner in the city. It was so busy and bustling! The next day we started out by walking to the Empire State Building. We took the elevator all the way to the top!! In my opinion it was a great intro to New York, to see it from above, and you really could see all of Manhattan and more from up there.

    To conclude the day we headed to Times Square; it was quite a sight. Then we went in the huge Toys R Us, a kid's paradise. There were legos, cars, nerf guns, video games, electronics, any thing you could think of. How fun!!!
   That next day we visited a friend of my mom's, Justin, who was in the hospital with a knee injury. It was great to meet another Star Wars fan! Later that day we went to Greenwich Village in downtown. There were funny shops, parks, old houses and cobble stone streets, little cafes, and lots of street vendors. All the heat of the afternoon made one me and we stopped for a famous "Mr. Softies" (ice cream cone).
     The next day we went to the famous electronics store B&H and I ended up getting a lap top. Then we hit central park. It was huge! We had fun playing in the sprinklers at a park. That day Justin was released from the hospital and we went to his place in Brooklyn for the night. It was quite different there! All the buildings were smaller and it was much less crowded.
     The next day, Monday, was our last day and we went out to Staten Island and visited friends of Shana's at the community of Ganas. We took the ferry there past the Statue of Liberty and that night we had a barbeque at Ganas. It was night when we headed back and the NY skyline was spectacular.

     All things end and the next day as the rain came down we headed to the bus stop. We waited for the delayed bus but were soon heading back to D.C. Overall it was a good experience of NYC in a few days.

     Pictures to come later.

Washington D.C.

      Hey, I just went to Washington D.C. and I want to share the experience of it. In the short time of a few days I went to the Museum of Air and Space, the Museum  of Natural History, the White House, the Capitol, the Botanical Gardens, and the National Archives, to name a few.
      I personally liked the Air and Space Museum and the Botanical Gardens the most. I've always been interested in flying and space travel and particularly liked the interactive displays of the Air and Space Museum. The Botanical Gardens provided rare peace and quiet that was unheard of in the busy museums and the bustling National Mall. Also, I felt happy among the plants and trees, rather than the concrete, steel, and glass of the city.
      We stayed with a friend, Erika, outside of the city who was kind enough to host us. That made it easy to come and go when we wanted. It was interesting to tour the Capitol and White House, but in truth weren't very exciting. Still to sum it up, it was an enjoyable trip to Washington D.C.

A Quick Trip to the Wallowa Mountains

   On July 5, 2011 my Mom and I took a road trip to the Wallowa Mountains, in northeastern Oregon.On the way there we drove up to Portland and then headed east along the Columbia River Gorge, which forms the border between Oregon and Washington. We arrived in the evening, and after a burger in the town of Wallowa, we went to a beautiful campground by the Lostine River. The campground was in a valley, surrounded by mountains and hills. They all seemed so close!
   The next day we went to the town of Joseph. Joseph is right by Wallowa Lake, a beautiful mountain lake, and the Mt Howard tramway. The tram is an enclosed metal box and each car could hold 4 people. We took the tram up to the top of Mt. Howard, and from the top you can see way into Idaho.
    My Mom, exausted by driving efforts, decided that the next day would be spent relaxing at the campground. It was a good thing I had a plenty of books! That day we also decided that we would take it easy and stop and see some sights on the way back. So after our day of nothing, it was back to the car! 
   On the way we saw a sign for a train museum. We went in and there was a authentic steam train ride that even had a mock train robbery. Unfortunatly my Mom had left the lights on in the car and the battery died. Then thanks to the help of the railroad manager and another helpful family, we jump started the car and got back on our way. That night we went to a "crowded comercial RV" campground and it was interesting to make a comparison between the other campground we had been to; one noisy and crowded and one peaceful and quiet.
   Soon we were back at home and our spectacular trip to the Wallowa Mountains was over.